It was a dream come true for 56-year-old Mala Dutta when she received her PhD degree from Delhi University on Friday.
But what made the occasion more memorable was that her daughter, Shreya Mishra also completed her doctorate on the same day.
Apparently, this is the first time a mother-daughter duo has completed their doctoral programme together from Delhi University.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, Datta who is an Indian Economic Service officer with the Defence Ministry, completed her Master’s from Delhi School of Economics in 1985. Since then, she always wanted to do her PhD.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Datta said:
“I had to take a break from work in 2012 when my younger daughter had her class 12 board exams. That was the time when I registered for PhD. I then took study leave from the ministry and worked seriously on my completing the PhD.”
She further revealed how getting the degree with her daughter was a constant motivation for her.
“It’s an absolutely wonderful experience for me because I got to learn a lot studying with the co-students of my daughter’s age. The motivation was to get a PhD degree with my daughter on the convocation day.”
Her daughter Shreya enrolled for the doctorate programme two years later, but made sure that she completes her PhD within three years in order to complete it with her mother and make it a cherishable moment.
The duo is giving us major mother-daughter goals.